Alaska Airlines and American are changing the terms of their partnership. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are changing the terms of their longstanding partnership next year in ways that will affect Mileage Plan and AAdvantage members and elites, although their code-sharing agreements will remain in place.

This should come as no surprise as Alaska continues to integrate Virgin America into its system and its loyalty program, since Virgin directly competes with American on several lucrative transcontinental routes.

So what’s changing? Starting January 1, Alaska Mileage Plan members will only earn miles on domestic American Airlines flights that are marketed by Alaska – i.e., flights that are code-shares, with an Alaska Airlines flight number and that are booked through Alaska. Likewise, AAdvantage members will earn miles, elite qualifying miles, elite qualifying segments and elite qualifying dollars only on Alaska and Horizon Air flights that carry AA codes and flight numbers, and are booked through American.

For elite-level loyalty members at both airlines, the perks that they now receive when flying on the other carrier will end January 1. That includes priority boarding/check-in, preferred seating and a waiver of checked baggage fees. (Alaska noted that Mileage Plan elites can now get priority check-in/boarding and free bags on Virgin America, with access to preferred seats and Main Cabin Select upgrades “coming later this summer.”)

However, members of the airlines’ airport lounge programs will continue to have reciprocal access to the other carrier’s lounges when traveling on an Alaska or AA flight.

The two airlines will still offer plenty of code-shared flights in the U.S. Just last year, Alaska and American implemented a substantial expansion of domestic code-sharing on many key business routes.

Alaska Airlines noted that the combined network of Alaska and Virgin “serves 80 percent of the top routes that Mileage Plan members have historically flown and earned miles on with American.”

Mileage Plan members could see pricing changes for award travel on AA. (Image: Boeing)

The impact of the changes will depend on a traveler’s location. Alaska said that those in the Pacific Northwest, “with a few exceptions,” will no longer earn miles on AA flights out of the region. For Mileage Plan members in California, Alaska is touting Virgin as an alternative for flights to New York, Boston and Dallas, “where American flights will no longer earn Mileage Plan miles.”

Members of both airlines’ loyalty programs will still be able to redeem miles for flights on the other carrier. However, Alaska noted that for award trips booked starting January 1, award pricing will increase for Mileage Plan members traveling on some of American’s international flights, and off-peak award travel on AA’s flights to Central and South American and to Asia will no longer be offered. At the same time, award pricing will be reduced for some premium cabin travel on American to Hawaii and within the U.S., Alaska said. You can see the old and new award pricing here.

American has new priorities for AAdvantage upgrade requests. (Image: Jim Glab)

Now that American Airlines has converted its AAdvantage program to a spending-based model like its competitors, it is extending that same concept to upgrades.

On May 20, American said in a mailing to members, AAdvantage will revise the way it prioritizes upgrade requests.

First it will prioritize requests by the member’s elite status level, AA said, and then by the type of upgrade. (Systemwide and mileage award upgrades will get priority in this step, followed by 500-mile upgrades on purchased tickets and then 500-mile upgrades on award tickets.)

Within those groups, the next priority in sorting requests will be the member’s 12-month rolling EQDs (elite qualifying dollars spent) — not year-to-date EQDs. If members have the same level of EQDs, additional priority evaluations will be based on the booking code (with business class to first class upgrade requests given priority over main cabin upgrade requests), and then the date and time the request came in.

American spells out the specifics here. The old upgrade priority method put more emphasis on the time of the request, but now the member’s 12-month spending level will play a larger role.

Meanwhile, AAdvantage is also providing award ticket upgrades as a new benefit to Executive Platinums and ConciergeKey members.

The change will allow those top-level members to use complimentary 500-mile upgrades for themselves and one companion for moving up from main cabin to the next class of service on AAdvantage award tickets.

American’s customers will get access to scores of new destinations on China Southern. (Image: China Southern)

American Airlines is buying an equity stake in China Southern Airlines, a move that will give its customers access to more destinations in Asia through code-sharing and frequent flyer connections.

The $200 million equity investment will give American a 2.68 percent stake in the Chinese carrier. American is following a strategy like that of Delta, which purchased 3.5 percent of China Eastern Airlines two years ago. Delta also owns more substantial equity stakes in Virgin Atlantic and Aeromexico.

“Later this year, the two carriers expect to begin codeshare and interline agreements that will give customers access to many more destinations in China, as well as North and South America,” American said. “The expected codeshare routes are anticipated to include the ability to earn and redeem AAdvantage Miles, through-bag checking and the ability to book travel on a single ticket. The planned routes operating under the interline agreement are anticipated to include through-bag checking to the traveler’s final destination.”

Asia’s largest fleet with more than 600 aircraft. (Image: China Southern)

Most of China Southern’s transpacific flights are from Guangzhou. American flies to Beijing and Shanghai from Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Los Angeles. The company said that the new partnership with China Southern will give its customers access to 40 destinations through connections at Beijing and 30 beyond Shanghai. Passengers will gain access to scores of AA cities beyond the Chinese carrier’s U.S. gateways of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York JFK.

It is Asia’s largest airline in terms of passenger traffic. Both China Southern and China Eastern are members of Delta’s global SkyTeam alliance, but a spokesperson for American tells TravelSkills that is not an issue in the equity purchase.

“We don’t expect China Southern to leave SkyTeam. That’s not the focus of our relationship with them,” the spokesperson said.

American flies 787s on its China routes to Beijing and Shanghai. (Image: American)

Meanwhile, American’s newest route, from Los Angeles to Beijing, is still on hold as the carrier tries to negotiate slot assignments at Beijing from Chinese authorities. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Transportation Department gave American a six-month extension to start flying the route after it became apparent that the slot issue would not be worked out by the March 16 deadline originally set by the agency.

American is the latest carrier to introduce Basic Economy fares. (Image: American Airlines)

Beware bargain-hunters: American Airlines has become the last of the Big Three legacy carriers to unveil a new, cheap but highly restricted Basic Economy fare category.

Like the Basic Economy fare introduced recently by United Airlines, American’s will not allow purchasers to stow carry-on bags in the overhead bin; instead, carry on bags must fit under the seat (unless they are an AAdvantage elite or an AAdvantatge credit cardholder). Delta’s Basic Economy fares do not have similar restrictions on carry on baggage.

Passengers traveling on basic economy fares will be the very last group to board the plane (except for elites and AAdvantage cardholders), and will face more scrutiny regarding the size of their carry on bags. If they are too big to fit under the seat, basic economy passengers will be dinged for the standard checked bag fee ($25) plus a $25 penalty for gate checking the bag.

American said its Basic Economy fares will be the lowest available, but like those at United and Delta, they will come with very limited benefits. Purchasers will get the same in-flight service as regular Main Cabin customers, but they can’t select a seat (it will be assigned are check-in, although they can purchase one earlier); they will not be eligible for upgrades regardless of elite status; and will not be allowed same-day standby or flight changes. (Or as American put it, “Tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable. Use it or lose it.”)

Basic Economy fare buyers will be the last to board. (Image: Jim Glab)

Why are major carriers doing this? To head off competition from the likes of Spirit, Allegiant and Frontier, which offer rock bottom fares and sky high fees. AA President Robert Isom said the new fare category is for “those who want simple, low-price travel,” and he noted it will give American “the ability to compete more effectively with the growing number of ultra-low-cost carriers [ULCCs].”

Basic Economy customers only earn half of an Elite Qualifying Mile per mile flown, and only one half of an Elite Qualifying Segment per segment flown.

If customers are inclined to bite at the lowest available fare when searching for a flight, how will they know what they’re getting with Basic Economy?

“Multiple disclosures will spell out the attributes of a Basic Economy ticket at the time of purchase on aa.com, and when utilizing the airline’s reservations phone centers or when booking through a travel agent or online travel site,” the airline said. In addition, “Basic Economy customers will also receive reminders as their travel day gets closer, including at check-in kiosks at the airport.”

For a business traveler, a basic economy fare might work for a short haul day-trip, like San Francisco to Los Angeles or Dallas to Houston, but not much more than that. Most corporate travel managers and corporate travel agencies will not force these fares on business travelers.

A comparison of American’s Basic Economy and Main Cabin fares. (Image: AA)

American said the first Basic Economy fares will go on sale next month in 10 markets, and will be expanded to more markets later this year. It noted that the fares will not be offered on every AA flight, and that the number of Basic Economy seats on its flights will vary. (It’s likely that you’ll only see them in markets where AA competes with ULCCs.)

Soooo, what do you think about this new fare category? Will you be using it to save money? Please leave your comments below.

American Airlines announced a while ago that it would change its AAdvantage program to include minimum spending requirements for elite status, and now those changes have taken effect.

January 1 was the starting date for the new AAdvantage rules, which brings American’s program into line with its major competitors. So here’s a reminder for AAdvantage members who need one.

Members now have new requirements for achieving AAdvantage elite status, most significantly including a minimum spending requirement for each level. And speaking of elite levels, there are now four instead of three.

The new level is called Platinum Pro, in between regular Platinum and Executive Platinum. Platinum Pro benefits – in addition to the regular Platinum perks – include unlimited complimentary upgrades in 500-mile upgrade markets; nine award miles per dollar (an 80 percent bonus); a 72-hour upgrade window; and two free checked bags. Platinum Pros will have the same Oneworld Sapphire status that Platinums have.

Here’s a chart showing the new elite levels, which require minimum spending of Elite Qualifying Dollars as well as minimums for Eilte Qualifying Miles OR Elite Qualifying Segments.

Except for the addition of the Platinum Pro level, the miles/segments requirements are the same as they were before. Elite Qualifying Dollars are based on the ticket price plus carrier-imposed fees, but not government taxes and fees. The number of miles accumulated per Elite Qualifying Dollar ranges from 5 for non-elite AAdvantage members up to 11 for Executive Platinums.

Later this year, American said, upgrade prioritization rules will be updated to include not only elite status level, but also the number of Elite Qualifying Dollars accumulated in the last 12 months; and Executive Platinums will be able to use free 500-mile upgrades for award flights on American.

This Qantas seat was the most mis-identified on the Business Class Expert Quiz (Chris McGinnis)

Did you take our recent Business Class Quiz? Over 3,200 readers gave it a go and most did very well! Our readers really are business class experts (and they obviously read our famous Trip Reports very closely). Which seat was mid-identified most? It was the Qantas business class seat. Most players thought it was Turkish Airlines’ seat. The seat that nearly everyone got right? United’s BusinessFirst seat. Here’s a breakdown of scores:

TravelSkills readers are business class masters! Check out how well you did!

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

American Airlines last fall announced it would change its AAdvantage program to a revenue-based regimen in 2016, and in case you forgot, a major milestone for that changeover is fast approaching.

American this week issued a reminder to AAdvantage members that the way they earn award miles will radically change on August 1. These moves generally bring the AAdvantage program inline with Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus; American will no longer enjoy the “outlier” status it had while merging with US Airways, and putting off any major program changes.

For trips beginning August 1 or later, a new earning formula kicks in, paying a base rate for non-elites of five miles per dollar spent (including base fare plus carrier fees, but not government fees or taxes). Elites will earn bonus miles based on their status: Golds get seven miles per dollar spent, Platinums get eight, and Executive Platinums earn 11.

Starting later in June, American said, “customers will be able to see an estimate of the number of miles and elite-qualifying credits they will earn for a chosen itinerary when booking their trip on aa.com.”

A few months ago, American revised the award side of the program, instituting a new award level for flights of less than 500 miles, and increasing the mileage cost for some awards, especially for its lowest-priced MileSAAver awards.

For flights on AAdvantage partner airlines not operated by American, members will earn miles “based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class of your ticket,” AA said, promising to release specific earning rates by mid-July.

More changes are coming in 2017. Starting January 1, spending will also figure into qualification for elite status, with access to each level requiring a combination of elite-qualifying dollars (EQDs) plus elite-qualifying miles or segments. And a new Platinum Pro status is being added in between Platinum and Executive Platinum.

Here’s a look at the new qualification chart:

Finally, American said additional changes will come later on in 2017: Upgrade priority “will be based on a 12-month rolling EQD total, sorted by elite status level;” and Executive Platinums will be able to use complimentary 500-mile upgrades with AAdvantage award tickets for travel on American.

American has a web page that summarizes all the upcoming changes in the AAdvantage program.

How does this make you feel about American? Please leave your comments below.

Remember last year when we wrote about Verizon’s new TravelPass? $10 per day flat fee for data and voice. I signed up immediately and I really like how it removes a lot of the uncertainty about using my smartphone overseas– worked like a dream in Australia. Are there any other Verizon-using globetrotters feel similarly? Or not? I know a lot of readers think T-Mobile’s international plan is better, but the reality for me is that T-Mobile does not work in my house, or in many parts of San Francisco. Please leave comments below.

NASA’s new SST design could fly over land without creating a sonic boom that disturbs the people below. (Image: NASA)

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

American will change some AAdvantage mileage costs for award travel in a few weeks. (Image: American)

Are you a loyal AAdvantage member who’s been saving up your miles so you can book a nice vacation for later this year? Then you might need a reminder that American’s award travel chart will be changing effective for bookings made March 22, 2016 or later.

American announced the award chart changes last fall, but many AAdvantage members might have overlooked them since the bigger part of that announcement concerned the program’s coming transformation from a mileage-based to a spending-based earning system starting later this year.

Anyway, there was some good news in the award cost overhaul – e.g., starting March 22 AAdvantage will introduce a new category for flights of under 500 miles in the U.S. and Canada, starting at 7,500 miles for a MileSAAver economy cabin ticket. And a MileSAAver award to the Caribbean in economy drops from 17,500 to 15,000 miles.

But there are some increases as well, most of them targeting the MileSAAver awards (which are subject to blackout dates and availability limitations). MileSAAver economy class awards for off-peak travel increase from 20,000 to 22,500 for Europe, and from 25,000 to 32,500 for Japan/Korea. A business class MileSAAver award to Hawaii rises from 37,500 to 40,000, while one to Europe increases from 50,000 miles to 57,500, and one to the South Pacific jumps from 62,500 to 80,000.

First class MileSAAver awards increase from 47,500 to 65,000 for Hawaii; from 62,500 to 85,000 for Europe; and from 67,500 to 110,000 for China/Hong Kong.

Award travel prices are one-way, and they are subject to taxes and “carrier-imposed fees” that “vary by itinerary and are based on trip origin and destination,” American said.

The existing award travel prices can be found here; that page also has a link to the new award levels that apply for bookings made March 22 or later.

The site says AAdvantage Executive Platinum status is being offered to United 1Ks, and it will kick in instantly (presumably after a brief processing period). To keep the AA Executive Platinum status active through February of 2017, you’ll have to earn 35,000 elite-qualifying miles within 90 days on American, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines and/or Qantas.

The report said program 1K switchers who become Executive Platinums qualify for four systemwide upgrades on American from any fare class. Interested parties are advisded to call AA at 888-697-5636 to make the request and start the process.

Double points on Virgin America (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America is pulling out a powerful tool to boost bookings during the slow “dead weeks” of early winter. Those who register, book, and fly with Virgin by Feb 29 will earn 2x Elevate points. Details and registration here.

The typical earn for Elevate members is five points per $1 spent on the base fare and five status points per $1 spent on base fare. In this offer, you will earn 100% bonus points per $1 spent on the base fare for a total of 10 points but will still earn only five status credits per $1 spent on the base fare.

JetBlue’s offer of double points is even sweeter– that’s because the bonus points count toward the carrier’s elite Mosaic status. Details and registration here.To get the bonus, you must book your flight by January 31.

Puzzling photo: One of the best things about TravelSkills are the comments… readers definitely know what they are talking about. For example, there was some confusion about what type of Delta aircraft was used for this promotional photo that appeared on the blog last week. See below for an explanation:

Delta’s Comfort+ seating – but what plane? (Image: Delta)

Reader L. Howell explains it:It is a 757, the model they use primarily on premium JFK east/west flights and sometimes to Europe. You can see the new Biz Elite config forward. What’s confusing is they removed the jump seat and equipment by the left door to make the cabin appear more spacious. And you are correct that there’s one row on the right side with two rather than three seats due to exit door 2-right. There’s only that one row (18) that has 2 seats on just the right side, no seats on the left (left exit door). The next row is 3 across both sides. They ought to use this photo and what it really looks like in the back of Highlights Magazine in the “what’s missing” photo….

A few newsy nuggets from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:

American will overhaul its AAdvantage program next year. (Image: American)

A lot of people have been speculating that when American Airlines finally got around to revising its AAdvantage program after dealing with other merger-related priorities, it would follow the lead of Delta, United and Southwest by switching from a distance-based to a spending-based system.

And now American has an answer to those speculators: You were right.

Starting in the second half of next year, AAdvantage members will start to earn award miles based on the price of their ticket in combination with the buyer’s elite status.

Non-elites will earn five miles per dollar spent; AAdvantage Golds will get seven, Platinums will earn eight, and Executive Platinums will bring in 11 miles per dollar spent, American said. Details here

Does that chart look familiar? It should, because it’s nearly a carbon copy of the United and Delta programs announced last year.

United’s MileagePlus conversion calculator (Feb 2014)

Delta’s SkyMiles conversion chart (February 2014)

Beginning in January, AAdvantage will dump elite-qualifying points, and will provide two ways for members to gain elite status: Elite-Qualifying Miles (EQMs) or Elite-Qualifying Segments. American claims it will offer “the most generous multipliers in the industry,” offering 1 EQM for discount economy fares, 1.5 for full-fare economy, 2 for discounted premium fares and 3 for full premium fares. Here’s American’s comparison chart with Delta and United:

Upgrades in the revised system will also be based on EQMs, with Golds and Platinums earning four 500-mile upgrades from each 12,500 EQMs. Executive Platinums will score four systemwide upgrades upon qualification, and up to four more based on subsequent flight activity. How to earn AAdvantage Elite status in 2016

And award redemption charts are changing as well, American said, with some increasing and some going down (especially to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America for flights booked after March 22). What’s more, MileSAAver awards for flights of 500 miles or less in the U.S. and Canada can be had for as little as 7,500 miles one-way.

Which award routes will cost more? “Other routes will be adjusted to match increased customer demand, including routes that feature our world-class A321T and 777-300ER aircraft,” an AA official remarked. American uses the A321Ts on its upgraded transcontinental service (JFK LAX SFO), and 777-300ERs on key international routes.

To me, it never made good business sense for airlines to base programs on miles flown instead of dollars spent. That’s because airline fares are not based on distance flown; they are driven by market forces. This is why it can cost three times as much to fly from, say Atlanta to Nashville (215 miles), than it does to fly from Atlanta to New York (750 miles). As painful as this announcement is to American devotees, it makes business sense for airlines to better reward their customers who spend the most…not those who fly the farthest.

Airlines made a mistake when they started distributing applications for “frequent flyer” programs to everyone—even those who fly once or twice a year. That diluted the loyalty experience for the airlines’ best customers…the ones who pay the most (not those who flew the farthest). It opened the door to a wily generation of “gamers” who figured out how to snag more miles at very low fares by manipulating an admittedly imperfect system. With new spending based programs, those gamers can still earn mountains of miles and travel “for free” but over time I’m betting they won’t get those upgrades, shorter lines and other bennies bestowed on those who spend a lot.

The move to revenue-based programs realigns the system back to its initial premise: to reward truly frequent business travelers, those who fly 10+ times per year on non-discounted fares. I’m talking about the person whose company pays $6,000 for a business class ticket to London, or a $550 last minute fare between Portland and San Francisco. If that’s not you, then sorry. If that is you, then get ready for things to get better. But it will take a while.

Unless you consider yourself an expert already, it might be worthwhile to sit through the classes; they’re only a couple of minutes each.

You’ll pick 150 bonus miles for each of the six courses you finish, plus an extra 100 for finishing them all. (And you don’t even have to answer quiz questions correctly to get the points.)

Or if your time is worth more to you for other purposes, here’s a trick: Just pull that little white and red progress button at the bottom of each video to zip through it in a couple of seconds instead of the full 1-2 minutes.

Delta eyes Shanghai hub. Delta said last week it will relocate its operations at Shanghai Pudong Airport from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 on April 13 in order to be close to its codeshare partners China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, and Delta CEO Richard Anderson suggested in a message to employees that Shanghai could be Delta’s next hub as it builds up the China-U.S. market with its partners. He compared it to the existing link between Delta and partner KLM at Amsterdam Schiphol. Delta currently flies to Shanghai from Seattle, Detroit and Tokyo Narita, and if it wins government approval, will add Los Angeles-Shanghai service in July, giving it a total of 28 flights a week from the U.S. The code-sharing pacts with China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines give Delta access to 30 destinations beyond Shanghai. And Delta’s customers will have access to a new SkyTeam Lounge that China Eastern plans to open in the airport’s Terminal 1 later this year.

AA accelerates elite points. Members of American Airlines’ AAdvantage program can get on the fast track to elite status by buying pricey premium cabin tickets this year. The company said members who buy full-fare first and business class tickets (fare categories J and F) from now through December will earn 3.0 elite-qualifying points per mile — the usual 1.5 per mile plus a new bonus of an additional 1.5. For discount first and business fares (R, D, A, I, P), the regular 1.5 points per mile is supplemented with an extra 0.5 points for total of 2.0. The bonus applies for travel on American, US Airways, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Qantas and Japan Airlines. Hmm. That’s starting to sound like a revenue-based frequent flyer program to us…

Lufthansa’s new lie-flat seat (Lufthansa)

Lufthansa lies flat. Thankfully Lufthansa is rapidly shedding its old-school angled lie flat seats, and they will be completely gone in a few months. A Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed that, for example, the carrier’s A380s between Frankfurt and SFO now feature the new business class product. “The Business Class retrofit process of the entire Lufthansa long-haul fleet will be completed in the second quarter of this year,” he said.

A mesmerizing look at a Delta jet from a window of ATL’s Concourse E (Photo: AP Gouge Photography)

Delta mileage sale. Delta, which recently changed its SkyMiles rules to make some domestic/Latin America/Caribbean award flights available starting at 10,000 miles one-way, is greatly expanding the number of markets in that deal in a new promotion for spring travel (April 30-June 20). The purchase deadline is April 23. Sample markets include Atlanta-New Orleans, New York LGA-Orlando, Seattle-Phoenix, New York JFK-Bermuda, Atlanta-Nassau and Los Angeles-Mazatlan. among others.

American’s merger milestone. Although they’ve been operating under common management for some time, American and US Airways were technically separate airlines — until last week, when the FAA finally granted the company a single operating certificate for the two carriers, a step that American called “a major milestone” in the merger process. Although that makes a difference to air traffic controllers (all flights will now go by the AA call sign “American”), the change will be transparent to passengers, who will still check in at aa.com or usairways.com or their respective check-in counters. American recently started merging the frequent flyer accounts of the two carriers into a single AAdvantage program, but it still has to combine the two airlines’ reservations systems — a big job that has caused problems for some earlier airline mergers.

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New routes: Southwest, Delta, JetBlue. Southwest Airlines last week kicked off the latest expansion of its growing network out of Dallas Love Field, adding daily non-stop service to Columbus, Indianapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee, Panama City Beach (Fla.), Portland, Sacramento, San Jose and Seattle. On April 11, Southwest will add Saturday-only service from DAL to Charleston, S.C. Southwest also started new daily service last week between Kansas City and New York LaGuardia … Delta said it will add two new South American spokes from its Atlanta hub on December 19, including daily service to Medellin, Colombia and three flights a week to Cartagena, Colombia … JetBlue plans a December 10 start for new flights from Albany, N.Y. to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, with one daily roundtrip in each market.

SAS using Google’s Street View technology to show off it’s new cabins (SAS)

SAS ‘Street View’. SAS is using Google Street View’s technology to give customers a look at the interiors of its newly upgraded long-haul A330/340 aircraft. Users can navigate their way through the plane to look at the features of SAS Go, Plus and Business classes, checking out the entertainment systems, the seats and even the bathrooms. You can try it out here. But it will be a while before you can actually sit in the new seats. A spokesperson told TravelSkills, “We are upgrading a total of four 340s and the upgrade is should commence just after the summer.”

When you pay full price for a big first class seat up front on American, you could earn a 12K mile bonus (Photo: DearEdward / Flickr)

The latest salvo in the battle for front-cabin travelers comes from American, which unveiled a bonus promotion for 2015 that rewards extra miles — in some cases a lot of extra miles — to AAdvantage members who buy pricey premium seats.

Although American calls it a “promotion,” it is unlike other mileage promotions in some key ways: 1) The bonus miles apply throughout all 12 months of 2015 for travel on American, US Airways, and AA-marketed flights on international partner airlines; 2) No on-line registration is required — bonus mileage is automatically deposited into members’ accounts.

The 2015 bonus miles are awarded in addition to actual flight mileage and on top of the usual elite status/class of service bonuses. The size of the new bonus is based not only on the fare class but also on the member’s elite status and the distance flown. And it can be very generous — e.g., an Executive Platinum who buys a full-fare first or business class ticket on a long-haul route (3,000 miles or more) will get a bonus of 12,000 miles.

Perhaps as a signal to Delta, United, Virgin and JetBlue that it is willing to fight hard for premium market share on plum transcontinental routes, AA is including JFK-Los Angeles and JFK-San Francisco flights in that long-haul category, even though the distance on both routes falls hundreds of miles short of that 3,000-mile limit. American offers both first and business class cabins on the new specially-configured A321Ts that it is deploying in those two markets.

The new program does not impact American’s earlier announcement that starting January 1, the regular business class mileage bonus on AA flights will rise from 25 percent to 50 percent to make it consistent with US Airways’ Dividend Miles program.

Fares can vary considerably in AA’s front cabins, even on the same flight. For instance, a mid-January trip from JFK to LAX shows business class fares ranging from $1,809 for a non-refundable ticket to $4,249 for “Business Flexible.” First class seats on the same trip range from $2,161 to $3,861.

One TravelSkills reader who is an AAdvantage loyalist questions just how many travelers actually shell out the top amounts for front cabin tickets, and thus would be eligible for the biggest bonuses. He notes that he flies on discounted premium tickets, but adds: “I do think the 3,500 bonus miles for long haul (discount) business would be nice. It says the JFK-SFO counts as long haul. So I would earn 2,500 regular miles, 2,500 bonus miles for my elite status, whatever the class of fare bonus is, and 3,500 additional miles – so that’s pretty good!”

It remains to be seen is when, how, and whether American’s competitors will join this new bonus battle.

What do you think, readers? Would these new bonus miles help American clinch your loyalty? Would they induce you to switch your primary mileage program? Post your comments.

Please join the 85,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

American and US Airways have finally announced that they plan to combine both of their frequent flier programs under the AAdvantage umbrella starting next spring. The biggest news is that the combo is not ushering in many major changes. That’s great news considering all the bad news coming out of most other loyalty programs this year.

1) With this announcement, the program is not switching to a revenue-based program as Delta, Southwest and United have done. But American is still being coy about the possibility. “We need to integrate first,” AAdvantage President Suzanne Rubin told USA Today when asked about the likelihood of a move to a revenue-based model, adding, “…we’ll obviously be studying the changes that have happened in the competitive marketplace.”

2) It’s going to be tougher to get into top tiers of the program. For example, to earn the coveted Executive Platinum status, you will have to fly 120 segments, up from 100 segments under the current program. The number of miles flown (25,000, 20,000, 100,000) for the three tiers of elite status (gold, platinum, executive platinum) remains unchanged. Competition for upgrades and perks is going to be keen for the top tiers of both programs…it’s going to feel very crowded at the top for a while.

3) The two programs will be linked online in early 2015 to make combining them easier once the full transition comes in springtime. No hard date has been set for the transition. AAdvantage members will keep their account numbers.

4) There are no changes to the current AAdvantage award chart, so redemptions are safe…for now. Let’s see what happens once the dust has settled.

Do you think a revenue-based AAdvantage program is inevitable in the current environment? Please leave your comments below.

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This just in from Virgin America— something I’ve been waiting for for a while now… will you take Virgin up on the offer? Is it enough to force you to break away from your Mileage Plus addiction? Please leave your comments below!

Here’s Virgin’s announcement:

This week, we’ve just launched a status match program where, between now and April 30, 2013, qualifying elite level flyers from United Airlines and American Airlines’ frequent flyer programs will be able to request matched status to Virgin America’s Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver Status levels without giving up their status (or any points/miles) in their current program.

Applicants will need to sign up for the Elevate program if not already a member, and can expect their Elevate status to be updated within 7 to 14 days after submitting their application. Approved members will receive their new Elevate status good through April 30, 2013, and will have an opportunity to retain their status through the end of 2013 by earning sufficient status points by flying Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. For full details please see: www.virginamerica.com/statusmatch.

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As you may remember, this summer, Virgin America launched a suite of enhancements to its Elevate frequent flyer program this summer – including the new Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver Status levels. Matched members from United’s MileagePlus and American’s AAdvantage programs will get to enjoy almost all the benefits currently offered to Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver members during this period – such as: points earning bonuses, priority check-in, security clearance and boarding; free checked bag allowances; enhanced digital/social rewards; private discounts; an expanded advance purchase upgrade window for the airline’s exclusive eight-seat First Class; complimentary space-available upgrades to the carrier’s premium Main Cabin Select service; and complimentary access to the best seat assignments within Main Cabin.

For a limited period, San Francisco passengers will have the opportunity to experience spacious luxury onboard the world’s largest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A380 on flights to Asia. Between December 28, 2012 and March 24, 2013, Singapore Airlines will pop into town with daily “Pop-Up” A380 flights between San Francisco and Singapore via Hong Kong. Flip through this slideshow to see its famous Suites and the widest Business Class seats in the sky.

SQ1 departs SFO at 10:50 pm and arrives in Hong Kong at 5:50 am two days later. Flight time is about 13 hours to Hong Kong, and with another 3.5 hours to Singapore, you’ll have plenty of time to soak up the luxury and explore the 1000+ onboard entertainment options. SQ2 arrives daily in SFO at 7:45 pm on the same day it departs from Singapore and Hong Kong.

First it was the San Francisco-based Giants. Now it’s San Francisco-based Virgin America tearing into Texas and hoping to tan some hide.

Virgin America is throwing a big hoedown in Dallas today to celebrate its arrival at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport, the primary hub and headquarters of American Airlines. (American also happens to be the former employer of Virgin CEO David Cush.)

Dallas is also home to Virgin archrival Southwest Airlines, so it is time to pull out all the stops.

Those lucky enough to be on Virgin’s first flight (from LAX…SFO service starts Dec. 6) were treated to a catered Texas-style barbecue lunch on the tarmac upon arrival. Mayors of both Dallas and Ft. Worth along with small herd of Texas longhorn steers were there to greet them (see photo above).

Tonight, there’s a big party benefiting cancer research at the Dallas Opera House that will include a performance by Willie Nelson and an appearance by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson (natch).

American Airlines is not about to take a whoopin’ from a San Francisco-based outsider like Virgin, especially when it comes to the lucrative business travel market. To fight back, it’s pulled out its most powerful (and expensive) marketing gun: double elite qualifying miles on all flights between DFW, SFO and LAX from now through February 28. (To get the bonus miles, AAdvantage members must register prior to travel.)

From SFO, Virgin will operate just two flights per day compared to American’s nine. Its arrival in the market has brought down fares, with the lowest promotional ones now running about $260 round trip– matched, of course, by American and United. (Like Virgin, United offers only two SFO-DFW roundtrips per day and so far has not matched American’s double mileage promo.)

How will Virgin’s fleet of brand new planes equipped with seatback TV, Wi-Fi, signature cocktails and mood lighting stand up to American’s more conservative offering? Wrangling business travelers could be a tough for Virgin according to San Francisco resident Henry Harteveldt, principal travel analyst at Forrester Research. He said,

“It’ll be tough for Virgin America to get many business travelers with its limited schedule. Still, American’s actions show that it takes Virgin America seriously as a competitor, as they should. American will have to work hard to defend its market share. Virgin’s product and experience are tangibly better than what American offers. If Virgin adds more flights between Dallas and LAX/SFO, or adds other cities from DFW, they will give American a run for its money.”

In addition to some tough competition from American, Virgin is going to have to fend off nonstop competition between SFO and Dallas Love Field from Southwest starting in 2014. That’s when the Wright Amendment fizzles out, allowing Southwest to offer nonstop flights from SFO, OAK, SJC to Dallas Love. (Currently, it’s only allowed to offer one stop or connecting flights.)

Editor Chris McGinnis

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